WUNRN
3 July 2007
One More Woman's Body Found in Ciudad Juárez, Over 15 Cases of Femicide Identified So Far in 2007
Equality Now Extremely Concerned That Murders Continue as Climate of Impunity Persists
New York—The body of a 20 to 23 year old woman identified as Samantha Elizabeth Martinez Gutierrez was found in Ciudad Juárez on June 27, 2007. Police said she had been raped multiple times and was found naked in a bush. The limited known details of this recent case resemble many of the earlier cases of murdered women whose bodies have been found in and around Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua City.
Equality Now is extremely concerned about the unacceptable incidents of fatal violence against women that persist unabated in Chihuahua State. The international human rights organization fears that the lack of accountability for these murderers has created a climate of impunity that has reigned in the state of Chihuahua over the last decade in which criminals continue to perpetuate such gruesome acts of violence upon women.
The Mexican government reported that 379 women had been murdered in Ciudad Juárez between 1993 and 2005. Another several dozen have been cited as missing and unaccounted for. In 2006 an estimated 58 cases of femicide occurred in Chihuahua State and so far in 2007 over 15 cases of murders of women have already occurred. “This is cause for grave concern. The statute of limitations has already expired on some of the murders committed in 1993 and more murders of women are happening without the perpetrators being found and punished. It is time the Mexican government took these crimes seriously and ensures that the families of the murdered women get justice,” stated Taina Bien-Aimé, Executive Director of Equality Now.
Several international bodies, including the United Nations, and others have undertaken independent inquiries into the murders of women in Ciudad Juárez. They have all criticized the Mexican authorities’ inefficient and incompetent investigations of the murders. In bringing its own concerns to the Mexican government, Equality Now in collaboration with groups in Mexico, highlighted the example of Minerva Teresa Torres Albeldaño, an 18-year-old woman from Chihuahua City who disappeared in March 2001. While the remains of her body were found in July 2003, it was only in April 2005 that the Public Prosecutor’s office asked Minerva’s parents for DNA samples, and only 2 years later were they informed that the remains were those of Minerva. In addition, officers assigned to the case changed repeatedly and leads were not followed up in a timely way.
Equality Now reissues its demand for accountability from the Mexican government, for ineffective and shoddy investigations. In the final report issued by the Mexican government’s own federal Special Prosecutor’s office in 2006, 177 public servants involved in 120 cases were implicated as having acted with administrative or criminal negligence in mishandling investigations. This number represents over 35% of all officials involved in homicide cases from 1993 to 2005. There is no indication that any official has been prosecuted for these acts, even those suspected of criminal responsibility. “What happened to those public servants who were implicated by the report? Who are they and what action was taken against them for their failure to perform their duties? The families and the public generally need to be reassured that the government is addressing this issue as a matter of priority. We need full transparency in this process. Only then will this climate of impunity start to change,” asserts Jacqui Hunt, London Office Director of Equality Now.
Equality Now is an international human rights organization that works to protect and promote the civil, political, economic and social rights of girls and women. Equality Now‚s Women's Action Network comprises 30,000 groups and individual members in over 160 countries. For more information please visit www.equalitynow.org.
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